We apparently have an extremely low threshold for registering domain names. But I did mill my first flour today! A little test rye

I have to admit, absinthe was not what I was expecting there 😆

A tub of sourdough after bulk fermentation

A shaped raw loaf sitting in a banneton

A deeply caramelized boule on a cooling rack

A cross-section of sourdough with open holes

Today’s loaf is a little lighter, made from Wade’s Mill’s naturally white bread flour, which is sifted. I wanted something with a nice, open crumb! Just toasted a slice of this and spread it with salted, cultured butter and it was ethereal. So incredibly tender with a crackly crust

Next week, my Mockmill 100 arrives, so I’ll be starting to experiment with freshly milled grain! First up, 100% Red Fife. 🤞

Raw boule of sourdough slashed with a lame

Heavily caramelized whole wheat sourdough

Cross-section of whole-wheat sourdough with nuts

Had some fun today with this 70% stone-ground whole-wheat sourdough packed with black walnuts. Very high-hydration, so a tricky loaf to shape, but so delicious

Brick of laminated dough dusted with flour

Square of laminated dough on wooden countertop with rolling pin, measuring sticks, pastry wheel and discarded edges

Croissant dough cut into triangles

Seven freshly baked croissants cooling on a wire rack

Croissants! And not shaped like snails this time! (It’s all about patience when you roll out the dough. If it shrinks, let it rest for a few minutes before you tackle it again.)

Melissa Weller’s “A Good Bake” gave me the courage to play with laminated dough, and it’s so worth it

Thank goodness for neighbors, who are helping us eat these!

A dozen crispy buttery pastries on a piece of parchment

Cross section of a kouign amman pastry in a bowl

Kouign amman lost a little definition on top, but this disrupted the crispy buttery goodness not at all

Bread dough in a prep bucket with sprouted rye berries on top

Shaped rye sourdough resting in a basket dusted with rice flour

Finished sprouted rye boule with decorative pattern cut in the top

Snow day baking so far: sprouted rye loaf. Coming up: kouign amman and croissants

Included some whole wheat flour and soaked whole barley—for a first attempt at this mix, I’m very happy. It’s nutty and delicious

Japanese Milk Bread Recipe When panko, Japanese bread crumbs, first appeared here, American cooks leaped to embrace their spiky crunch (The first article about it in the New York Times appeared in 1998.) But how could breadcrum...

The recipe: cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016...

Made decadent sandwiches! No photos of those because we inhaled them too quickly. Made this bake friendly for my egg-allergic kid by subbing in Greek yogurt. We were all very happy

I’m doing folds on the whole wheat sourdough with barley now, so that’ll be tomorrow’s goodness

OK, I was going to stick to whole wheat, but then @jeremybowers.com and #thesqueezle made Japanese egg salad and asked for milk bread and how could I say no?

Here’s the loaf of baked trimmings. And now I just want to eat vegetables. So many vegetables. Happy New Year!

Genuinely outrageously delicious—crispy, caramelized layers of buttery goodness

The last thing will be a loaf of trimmings from my various laminated doughs, sprinkled with rough-ground pine nuts, citrus sugar, dots of marmalade and a bit of white chocolate

Some final sweet, buttery bakes before I switch back to whole grain sourdough for a while! Here’s the kouign amann, now proofing near 80 degrees for an hour

The New Year’s Eve red velvet cake and chocolate chip cookies. Tomorrow: kouign amann

Half of today’s baking bounty: baguettes and biscuits. Red velvet cake and chocolate chip cookies incoming.

This question is a key one in our house. “Where did you put it?” or “Where did you last see it?” is useless. “Where WOULD you have put it” is quite effective

Proofed, baked. Happy!

These are now proofing!

I’ve decided my croissant-shaping challenges stemmed from impatient rolling—I should have taken breaks to let the gluten in the dough relax when it was fighting me. I gave the pain au chocolat dough several short rests as I rolled it out, and it held its shape much better

Attempted croissants, ended up with snails. Still the best croissants I’ve ever made! (Previous attempts were prettier outside but dense and awful inside. I think I managed to proof them sufficiently this time.) Next up: Pain au chocolat

The fantails!